MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexico City Grand Prix will remain on the F1 calendar through at least the 2028 season after a three-year contract extension was announced on Wednesday, and the city’s mayor said negotiations are ongoing for an even longer deal.
With the contract for the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit set to expire at the end of this season, the organizers and local authorities needed to get a deal done.
“This (contract) does not mean that it is the end of it, we needed to secure those dates, but early next year we will have good news regarding the continuity of this wonderful event for years to come in Mexico City,” mayor Clara Brugada said at a press conference.
Mexico first hosted an F1 championship race in 1963 and has been on the calendar every year since 2015, excluding 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Formula 1 has a deep tradition in this country, it is part of the history of several generations that saw these cars run and have seen the sport evolve to become one of the most important competitions in the world,” Brugada said.
The extension comes as F1 experiments with rotating some established off-schedule slots in alternate years to meet demand for new hosts outside of Europe.
Mexico also fits in with F1’s plans to reduce travel by scheduling back-to-back races in the same regions of the world. This year, it’s part of a four-race series in the Americas, in October and November. The others are in Sao Paulo, Las Vegas, and Austin, Texas.
“It is an important day for Formula 1, Mexico is an incredible country and that is the reason for staying together for the next years,” Formula 1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali said.
This June, NASCAR will hold its first modern-era international points-based race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez track, and IndyCar is in talks to hold an event there.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Carlos Rodriguez, The Associated Press
